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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Keishun Johnson 9.4
Angela Roberts, FLC Athletic Communications
FLC sophomore wide receiver Keishun Johnson springs loose for a 65-yard gain in Saturday's loss to N.M. Highlands
44
Winner N.M. Highlands NMH 1-0 , 1-0
7
Fort Lewis FLC 0-1 , 0-1
Winner
N.M. Highlands NMH
1-0 , 1-0
44
Final
7
Fort Lewis FLC
0-1 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
NMH N.M. Highlands 27 7 7 3 44
FLC Fort Lewis 0 0 7 0 7

Game Recap: Football | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Tough first quarter puts FLC in early hole in season opening loss to N.M. Highlands

DURANGO, Colo. — The Fort Lewis College football team opened up the 2021 campaign on Saturday, playing its first home game in 658 days due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, a tough first quarter put the team behind the eight-ball from the opening kick in a 44-7 loss to New Mexico Highlands University.

The visiting Cowboys (1-0 overall, 1-0 RMAC) returned the opening kick of the game 93 yards to take a 7-0 lead 12 ticks into the game. With momentum on their side of the start, New Mexico Highlands would add three more score in the first quarter to make it a 27-0 advantage before FLC shook off the first-game jitters and found its footing.

"Preparation starts with me as a head coach and those first quarter jitters should have been gone," said FLC head football coach, Darrius G. Smith. "I need to help these guys get more prepared to play football in a game of that caliber and against a team that good."

True freshman quarterback Jack Hanenburg, a lefty out of Ponderosa High School, came into the game at the start of the second quarter and gave the Skyhawks' offense a jump. He finished with 133 passing yards and a 13-yard rushing touchdown at the 11:34 mark of the third quarter.

Hanenburg connected with junior wide receiver Dylan Holt on three catches for 49 yards, while redshirt sophomore transfer Keishun Johnson hauled in two catches for a team-high 79 yards, including a deep 65-yard strike to move FLC into the red zone.

"Jack competed well with all five of our quarterbacks during training camp. We saw a lot of the things that made us like Jack so much as a true freshman and we started to have a little more success in the second half," Smith said.

Adding to some of the difficulty on offense was the time and score situation the Skyhawks found themselves in down early, which forced more of a passing attack while the FLC run game finished with 55 net yards on 29 carries; 11 of which were quarterback scrambles.

Redshirt junior Brayden Lucero led the FLC backfield with 26 yards on eight attempts.

"Offensively, we got off schedule. The score put us in a lot more passing situations," Smith said. "I probably should have run the ball a little more in the first half to try and take advantage of some things. But it was one of those things where we were trying to find a rhythm and didn't want things to get out of hand. We had guys eager to make plays, but we weren't in the right position to make those plays."

On the defensive side of the ball, the Skyhawks had three players record double-digit tackle performances in redshirt sophomore Jayden Helms with a team-high 13 tackles, while junior newcomer Chuck Farmer and redshirt sophomore Fred Mady III each added 11 total tackles.

Helms added to his standout day with a forced fumble and an interception.

"That's what we wanted to see. We wanted to see an aggressive defense and those three guys flew around and made plays," Smith said. "The only thing that is bad about that is, if my safeties are making 24 tackles a game, we're in trouble because that means something is not happening up front. We're glad we played well in the back end, but we need to stop more plays and actions before it gets to their level."

Durango's own Max Hyson, named a team captain on Friday, added eight tackles, two tackles for a loss.

Junior safety Frankie Ayon tallied five tackles and a team-high four pass breakups, and junior linebacker Jordan Brown recorded his first interception as a Skyhawk to go with six tackles to help lead a FLC defense that only allowed 17 points over the final three quarters.

The Skyhawks will now turn the page and get back to work next week before traveling out to play Tarleton State University; a NCAA Division I opponent out of the WAC. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday (5 p.m. Mountain) in Stephenville, TX.
 
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